Building Skills is a 12-lesson curriculum designed to help 5th graders avoid or reduce high-risk behaviors, including substance abuse, by improving their inter- and intrapersonal skills. Curriculum topics include self-esteem, goal setting, decisionmaking, problem solving, communication skills, choosing friends, stress/anger management, conflict resolution, assertiveness, and substance refusal skills. Lessons of approximately 1 hour each are delivered during class time by a trained prevention specialist once per week for 12 weeks. Each lesson consists of lecture-based instruction; a group activity, which allows students to practice the skills taught; an individual activity, which uses the student handbook to further reiterate the teachings; and a debriefing session, which reviews and summarizes the lesson. Lessons do not require the use of computers or audiovisual devices. Prevention specialists encourage students to practice the skills in their everyday lives, especially at home and at school. At the end of the program, students are encouraged to take their handbooks home and discuss the curriculum topics with their parents, in order to reinforce the skills learned.